A Conservative club has dropped it's political allegiance in a bid to attract more visitors.

Committee members at Baxenden Conservative Club have agreed to rename it Baxenden Village Club because of fears over ‘political stigma’ putting off potential patrons.

It is part of a wider £25,000 refurbishment programme which has been carried out to bring the club ‘into the 21st century’.

Trustee Barry McLoughlin, 71, said: “The trouble is with political clubs is they have a bit of a stigma.

“If you are a Labour person you don't got into a Conservative club and if you’re Conservative you don’t go into Labour ones.

"If you’re half way then you don’t go into either.

“We want to remove that stigma so by calling it a village club it's open to anyone.

“I think it will take a while for people to stop calling it that though as it’s been called a Conservative Club for so long.

”Over the past 12 months a new bar top has been installed along with shot blasting of the outside walls, major roof repairs, seat recovering and a new boiler.

A disused room downstairs has been converted into a meeting area with a new disabled toilet and new snooker table lighting has been erected.

Mr McLoughlin, of Southwood Drive, Baxenden, who carried out a lot of the work over the past 12 months, hopes the investment and name change will help boost numbers. He said: “Most clubs get run down and last year we decided to give it a revamp.

The bar area itself hasn’t changed since the 1970s.

"The downstairs room was just a dumping ground and we cleared it all out so people now use it for meetings.

“People that haven’t been here for years have spoken about how much it’s changed. We are trying to get more people in.”

Club concert secretary John Dady, of Manchester Road, Baxenden, said the changes have made make the club more ‘warm and inviting’.

Mr Dady, 48, said: “We think we have now succeeded in bringing the club into the 21st century.”Former X Factor contestant Steph Woods will perform at the club on Saturday, December 7.

A children’s Christmas party will also take place on Sunday, December 15 from 2pm.